Combination can-opener



(N M a 1. 4

0 0 e A. WAGNIERE & 0. SILBERSTEIN. COMBINATION CAN OPENER, SQREWDRIVER, AND. KNIFE SHARPENBR.

N0. 540,'76'7. Patented June 11, 1895.-

5 NiTED STAT S AUGUST WAGNIERE AND CHARLES SILBERS'IEIN, OF LOS ANGELES,

' CALIFORNIA.

, COMBINATION CAN-OPENER, SCREWDRIVER, AND KNlFE-SHARPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540,767, dated June 11,l 895.

Application filed April 24, 1894-.-

[0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, AUGUST WAGNIERE and CHARLES SILBERSTEIN, citizensof the United States, residing at Los Angeles city, in the county of-LosAngeles and State of California,haveinventedanew and ImprovedCombination Can-Opener, Screwdriver, and KnifeSharpener, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to various features of construction andarrangement of parts hereinafter specified, whereby we produce animproved combination implement, which is adapted for use as acan-opener, screw-driver, and knife-sharpener, and in which the severalparts can with a great degree of economy be constructed of the bestmaterial suitable for such parts, and can beassembled at a. minimum costand will give the greatest degree of efficiency and convenience for animplement of the character and purpose specified.

The accompanying drawings illustrate our invention.

Figure l is a perspective side view of our improved device. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the same with the various parts separate from eachother. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view of our improveddevice on line indicated by 3 3, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of thearrow.

Our improvement comprises a combination can-opener, screw-driver andknife-sharpener provided with a thin flat bent member having its endsbent edgewise toward each other to form respectively the can opener andknife-sharpener blades of the implement and having the cutting edges ofsuch blades presented toward each other, and having the said bent memberpivoted, at the heel of its. canopener blade, in the slot of the handleof the implement; and having the body of said member curved and seatedin a recess in a curved lever provided with curved ribs or flanges toform bearings for the edges of said curved body; such implement alsohaving a screwdriver blade longer than the knife-sharpener blade andprovided with a knife sharpening edge and seated upon the flat bentmember and riveted thereto and to the lever and having its heel and bodyrespectively engaging Serial No. 508,866. (No model.)

the ribs of the lever in such a manner as to hold the knife sharpeningedge of the screW driver at the proper angle with the edge of theknife-sharpener blade to form the knife.- sharpener.

In the drawings, A represents the handle of the implement having theflat presser foot A formed integral with the handle and provided withthe slot at through which the can-opener blade 1') of the bent member Boperates.

O is the operating lever provided with the recessed seat 0 the walls ofwhich are formed by the ribs or flanges c c". The ribs or flanges c c"are wider than the thickness of the bent member B and the outer rib c isprovided at its upper end with the screwdriver aud knife-sharpener bladeseating recess and shoulder 0; and its upper end, where thus recessed,is equal in height to the thickness of the bent member and terminates ata distance from the main shank of the lever 0 equal to the width of thebent member at the heel of the knife-sharpener blade I) so that when thebent member is seated in the recess 0 it will be supported on its twoedges by the ribs 0' c".

D indicates the combined screw-driver and knife-sharpener blade havingits heel conformed to the inner face of the inner rib o and arranged atsuch an angle with the edges of the blade that when said blade is seatedwith its heel against the inner rib and its edge against the shoulder cthe knife sharpening edge d of the blade will form a proper angle withthe knife sharpening edge d" of the knife-sharpener blade b".

G indicates the pivot by which the bent member B is pivoted to thehandle A.

The bent member B and the combined screw-driver and knife-sharpenerblade D are both made of steel and the handle A and 1ever 0 are made ofmalleable iron.

The handle A is longer than thelever C, so that when the lever is closedagainst the handle, the end of the handle projects beyond the end of thelover. The end of the handle is provided with a gripping slot at,slightly wider than the thickness of the tin of a can, and is reduced insize so as to form a key by which the removable cover or fastening ofthe can can be rolled up. This is adapted for use both with cans, thecovers of which must be out to be opened, and also with cans which haveasealing strip of tin soldered with solder which will strip when pressureis applied for that purpose.

In practice, to open a can, the top of the can can be cut in theordinary way with the can-opener blade and then the tin can be grippedby the slotted end and rolled up; or, in case of a sealing strip, thesame can be gripped by the slotted end and wound thereupon.

The seat for the screw-driver and knifesharpener blade is arranged atthe projecting curveof the lever, so that the lever and handle can beconveniently grasped in the hand and used as a handle for thescrew-driver.

The shoulder c and the rib 0' together with the rivet g which securesthe combined screw-driver and knife-sharpener blade to the lever,afiords a strong and firm fastening for such blade. The bent member B isriveted to the lever 0 by the rivets g and g.

F indicates the spring for holding the can opener normally open.

In assembling the parts in manufacturing the implement, the curved bodyof the bent member is very easily put in the proper position forriveting because the seat C in which it fits, brings it into properadjustment at once; and the screw-driver and knife-sharpener blade areeasily adjusted for riveting because the projecting portions of the ribs0 and c" and the shank of the lever form a seat to hold said bladeaccurately in the right position. The parts when assembled and rivetedtogether possess great strength owing to the seating of the bent memberand blade in the lever.

Now, having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a combination canopener, screwdriver and knife sharpener, theimprovement set forth comprising the curved and recessed lever and thethin curved member havingits ends bent edgewise toward each other toform respectively the can-opener blade and the knife-sharpener blade ofthe implement, and pivoted at the heel of the can-opener blade in theslot of the handle of the implement and having its curved body seated inthe recess of the curved lever.

2. A combined can -opener, screwdriver and knife-sharpener, in which thecan-opener blade and one of the knife-sharpener blades are formed by theopposite ends of a single member which is pivoted to the implementhandle and is seated in a lever provided with ribs arranged to formbearings for the edges of said single member and the combined screw-driver and knife-sharpener blade; said screw-driver blade being arrangedas set forth to form the other blade of the knife-sharpener.

3. The combination of the handle; the bent member pivoted thereto; thecombined screwdriver and knife -sharpener blade; the recessed leverseating the bent member and said blade and secured thereto, and havingthe inner rib wider than the bent member, and having the outer rib widerthan the bent member and provided at its upper end with the combinedscrew-driver and knife-sharpener blade receiving recess.

AUG. WAGNIERE. CHARLES SILBERSTEIN.

\Vitnesses:

JEAN WAGNIERE, EDGAR E. LEFEBURE.

